We often write about “type” here, from what it is, to recognizing that there’s also “type” in how our different breeds move. Expression is also a big part of type, and it’s often created by structural features found in the heads and faces of our various breeds.

The Boxer head, for example, should be clean and not “wet” (deeply wrinkled), aspects that contribute to the breed’s sweet expressiveness. Critical is the harmonious proportion of muzzle to skull, and a nose that, when viewed in profile, has a tip that’s higher than the dog’s stop (or root of the muzzle). The phrase, “Tip up of the nose,”or “Tip Up” refers to that nose, and it is this aspect that many Boxer fanciers feel adds to the alert, sweet, and eerily intelligent expression of the breed.

This nose structure wasn’t arbitrary. Having the tip of the nose higher than the stop enables the Boxer to breathe while holding a bird or a mouthful of skin and fur while hunting. Not having it would interfere with the dog being able to do what his breed was bred do to.

Image of Boxer from the Meeting of the Boxers in the Canaries held in the park of the Stewardship of Tamaraceite by Juan Ramon Rodrigues Sosa shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.